


Slow To Realize

by HiddenSt0rms



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fever, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Monkey D. Luffy, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21947140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenSt0rms/pseuds/HiddenSt0rms
Summary: In which Nami didn’t know that Luffy was sick with a fever - and neither did Luffy.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Nami
Comments: 10
Kudos: 203





	Slow To Realize

Monkey D. Luffy could be so thoughtless at times, that is, if he even had any thoughts to begin with. These thoughts strolled through Nami’s mind, as bad as it sounded to say out loud. She truly was on good terms with her captain, but at the end of the day, she only had so much patience, and this day in particular was really setting the limit low.

The chaos started with an off-hand comment at breakfast. The meal was going smoothly (well, at least as much as it could with the Straw Hats), until Luffy turned to Sanji and said honestly, “This tastes weird.”

Usopp stopped his story, Chopper cowering behind him in fear. Franky looked about ready to cry for Sanji. Even Robin’s mouth was open in shock. Insulting Sanji’s cooking was insulting the man himself, a man one certainly did not want to mess with. Not even Zoro could cut the tension in the air.

Sanji’s visible eye twitched. His cheeks flushed with anger and a side of embarrassment as he stiffly turned around. “What did you just say?”

Completely oblivious to the weight of what he’d just hurled, Luffy repeated himself. “I said it tastes weird. Did you do something different?”

“No. It’s egg fried rice like we always eat. Nothing more, nothing less.” Sanji’s eyes shot daggers into Luffy’s soul. He didn’t seem to notice, only looking down at his plate and shrugging.

“Huh. I’ll eat it anyway because I’m hungry.”

 _I’ll eat it anyway because I’m hungry._ Their glutton of a captain, the one that would gladly consume anything he could get his hands on, is only eating Sanji’s food so he doesn’t starve. The chef tried to light a cigarette, but he couldn’t get the darn lighter to work. Sanji’s cooking wasn’t just his cooking; it was an extension of himself, his pride. Insults directed towards his cooking burned straight into his heart.

Nami could tell by the hurt in Sanji’s eyes how much damage had been done, even if he wouldn’t broadcast it outright, and she wasn’t one to sit by and allow such a thing to happen. “Luffy! You better apologize right now!”

Luffy stopped picking at the food to look up, his head tilting in confusion. “Why? To who?”

“To Sanji, you idiot! You insulted his cooking!”

“Hey, I didn’t say it tasted bad. I just meant it didn’t taste good.” 

_“Luffy!"_ Everyone said altogether, turning their attention to Sanji, the weaker members cowering in fear.

Only Sanji didn’t penalty kick him off the ship for that. He just set his rag on the counter and left. No slamming the door, no comebacks to preserve his ego, nothing, and yet that somehow felt worse.

“What’s happening? Where’s he going?” Luffy asked sincerely, pale face void of thought. 

Nami clenched her fists, doing everything in her power to not march on over and strangle her captain. “You insulted him! Don’t you feel guilty at all?”

“I insulted him?”

_“Yes!”_

Luffy looked around in shock. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“I just did! Multiple times!”

Luffy rushed up from the table to go give a well-earned apology. Nami shook her head at the scene. He could be so thoughtless at times.

* * *

The next incident was thanks to the Grand Line’s inconsistent weather patterns. Dark rain clouds replaced the sun, and soon Nami was barking orders to turn the ship away from the approaching wave. Everyone was on it as usual, even Robin’s hands were helping, but a very important someone was missing in action.

Nami gritted her teeth when she found Luffy asleep on Sunny’s deck. “Luffy! What are you doing? Get up and help move the ship!”

It took several times of shaking him before Luffy’s eyes finally split open. “Let me sleep…I’m tired.” He slurred.

“Are you crazy? Get up and help! You’re the captain!” Nami fussed so loud that Luffy had no choice but to get up and listen to his navigator.

Nami shook her head again.

* * *

“Oi, Nami, I think we’re off course.”

Nami looked up from her map and turned around, her eyes narrowing in confusion at her captain in the doorway of the girls' quarters. She’d made sure they got back on track after avoiding the storm and the weather hadn’t changed since. At least, no one else had mentioned anything. “What? Why do you say that?”

Luffy was wearing a thick winter coat, wrapping his arms tightly around himself, and strangest of all, shaking terribly. “You said the n-next island’s gonna be a s-summer one, right?”

“Yes…”

“And it should be h-hot if it’s a summer island next, right?”

“Right…”

“But it’s freezing cold! I think we got near a winter island or s-something.” As if to prove his point, another bout of shivers racked down Luffy’s spine.

“That can’t be,” Nami checked the log pose, filling with relief at the needle still pointing in the right direction. The last thing they needed was to get stranded in the middle of nowhere with already dwindling supplies. “Don’t worry, we’re fine. The log pose is perfectly – wait...” 

She rose to her feet, brows furrowing. “You’re cold?” It usually took a brush with hypothermia before Luffy would ever even notice being _cool,_ and yet he was complaining in an article fit to cause overheating in fair weather.

“Uh-huh.”

“No one else is cold, Luffy. Do you feel okay?” Now that she thought about it, he did look a little pale. Not being one to ask before helping herself, Nami stepped over to lay a palm on his forehead. Her hand warmed up in seconds, and she gave a soft gasp at just how _hot_ he felt. “Why are you - you’re burning up!”

Only Luffy just looked confused, batting away the hand still sitting on his head. “No, I’m not. I just said I feel cold.”

“That means you have a fever!” Suddenly Nami felt like the worst nakama in the entire Grand Line. No wonder he’d been acting weird all day, why the food tasted funny, why he was trying to nap ondeck...

She should’ve known better.

Wide-eyed at this new development, Luffy felt his own head. “But I don’t _feel_ warm.”

“That’s because it’s your own hand!”

“I see.” Luffy scratched his chin in deep thought as he processed the conversation.

The redhead showed her concern in the only way she knew how: a lecture. “Why didn’t you tell anyone you were sick?”

“Wait! I’m sick?”

“Yes! That’s – a fever means you’re sick!” Nami massaged the bridge of her nose, a sigh escaping from her lips. “Now, why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“…”

“Chopper’s job on this ship is to be the doctor, hell, you were the one who invited him! He needs to know when someone’s sick, especially the captain!”

“…”

“What happens if there’s an enemy attack and no one knows you can’t fight as well? And if enemies find out you’re sick, we’ll be extra vulnerable to attack! You need to tell people when something’s wrong! Have you really been sick all day without – “

“Nami,” Came a weak voice. “That’s hurting my head.”

“I, right. Sorry,” Nami kicked herself internally and softened her expression and tone. “Let’s just find Chopper, okay? He’ll know what to do.”

* * *

Nami waited outside the medbay for Chopper to finish looking at Luffy. Why was it taking so long? It shouldn't be taking this long. She was just about to disregard any rules about privacy and barge in, but the door finally creaked open, a reindeer popping out.

“Don’t worry, he’s okay, by Luffy’s standards at least. He’s just running a pretty bad fever,” The doctor put a hoof on his chin. “He told me his body feels like Jell-O, which I’m _guessing_ is how he’s describing feeling achy. Then he started thinking about Jell-O, so now he’s craving it, so I’m gonna see if Sanji can make some. I’ll never understand him.”

That put Nami at the slightest of ease. “Good that he’s hungry, at least.”

“Yeah, if Luffy lost his appetite – “ Chopper stopped when he sensed something off about the woman standing before him. “Hm, you look really pale, Nami. Are you sick too?”

“Oh, I’m fine, I just feel terrible.”

“So you _are_ sick?” Chopper was about to transform to Human Point to reach her forehead, but the navigator hurriedly stopped him. 

“No, not like that. I just feel really…never mind. Can I go see him?” Nami gave the most pleading look she could give. She would not plead in any other circumstances.

While Chopper wasn’t in love with the possibility of Luffy getting her sick and the crew being down another member, he granted her request anyway. Perhaps she’d keep him from sneaking away. Rest didn’t seem to go hand-in-hand with the captain.

She ruffled Chopper’s head once, then turned to open the door to a sight she did not like. The always exuberant, carefree captain was shivering in a pile of blankets, arms stretched around himself to keep any warmth in. The chills were never kind to anyone, not even the future Pirate King.

“How are you feeling?” Nami asked, keeping her voice soft as to not worsen his headache. 

“Really bored! Chopper said I can’t leave until the fever breaks.”

Nami went over to sit on the edge of the bed. She wanted to grab his hand, stroke his hair, do _something_ to make him feel better, but she didn’t feel like it was her place to. Not after she’d been treating him. She’d just have to settle for giving a gentle smile. “He’s right. You need to rest to get better.” 

“But he won’t even let me wear my coat!”

“He just doesn’t want to make the fever any higher.”

But then Luffy looked up with the saddest eyes he could muster. “But it’s _cold_."

“I know,” Nami sympathized, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders. She paused, and sighed, making tentative eye contact. “I owe you an apology.”

“Apology? For what?”

“Aren’t you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad?”

Even though the captain was already dense without a fever fogging his brain up more, still, having to spell it out loud make her feel so much worse. “I’ve been yelling at you all day when you were sick. Hell, I didn’t even notice my own _captain_ was sick.”

“I didn’t know either,” Luffy smiled, albeit it was a weak one. “We’re not the doctors of the ship. How should we know?”

His forgiving nature always got the best of Nami, who returned a gentle smile, a genuine one. “You want me to go see if your Jell-O is ready?”

The mention of food was a dull sparkle in Luffy’s eyes.


End file.
